Business as Usual
by Augment
Summary: Luffy loses The Hat.


A/N: *rises from the dead* I wrote this story in 2008 but never uploaded it because I didn't like one of the lines. So, eight years later, I deleted that line, and here we are.

* * *

The sun shone down on the damp and partially destroyed metropolis that was Water 7 post-Aqua Laguna. The coastal streets resounded with the sounds of hammering and construction, the shouts of citizens and Galley-La employees echoing along the canals. The bustling crowds moving along the sidewalks made for a jolly atmosphere, a symptom of the community feeling so prevalent in the city.

The serene scene was soon disrupted, however, when a certain exuberant and grinning young man rocketed down from the sky with a sound much like that of a rubber-band snapping into place.

"Where the hell is he going like that?!" an outraged Water 7 citizen demanded, as he was helped up from the pavement by his grinning friend.

"You know," came the answer, as his friend watched Luffy launch back into the sky from a nearby bridge, "I'm not even sure he knows himself."

* * *

Safe in the relative quiet of the Galley-La kitchenette, Sanji reclined against the sink, cigarette held loosely in his lips, watching the smoke curl in lazy swirls towards the ceiling. At peace, if temporarily, he took the time to take stock of their current situation.

Their political standing could be called unstable at best. While the townspeople considered them heroes, they were still wanted pirates who had just declared war on the government. In addition, there was the small issue of a Vice-Admiral docked not too far away, and it might not worry Luffy but it was doing horrors for Sanji's own nerves. Not that there was anything he could do about it.

Aside from this, Usopp was still noticeably absent, probably pacing along a coastline somewhere, muttering to himself. " _Usopp's strategy #89: Oho! I see you're desperately missing my charismatic personality. Never fear, for I shall agree to rejoin the crew…!"_ Luffy was missing his presence keenly, despite Sogeking's appearance.

A drag on the cigarette, a slow exhale.

Nami-swan and Robin-chwan were out shopping, taking the break they so assuredly deserved. Chopper was with them, gleefully taking advantage of the treats he got in return for acting as a pack-mule. The marimo had wondered off at the crack of dawn – not even, _not even,_ stopping to have breakfast – and was god-only-knows where by now, starving and certainly lost. Luffy had paused only to inhale the entire breakfast table, almost chocking on a napkin in the process, and had dashed out to explore shortly afterwards.

There was a sudden and resounding crash, and Sanji spun around to find Luffy crashing through the doorway that had _just this morning_ been repaired following Garp's colourful 'visit'. Sanji nearly bit clean through his cigarette, pulled a face when he tasted leaves, and spat it out.

His captain meanwhile disentangled himself from the remains of the doorway and stood, chest heaving, eyes slightly wild. He stared at Sanji. Sanji glared murderously back. They stood like this for a few moments, Luffy still gulping in air. The cook opened his mouth to launch into a tirade about his lovely Nami's undoubtedly gorgeous but nevertheless terrifying reaction when she saw the wrecked entrance, when he noticed something that made him completely forget his anger and shut his mouth with a snap.

The Hat Was Missing.

Luffy noticed Sanji noticing and waved his hands in the air, helplessly. He appeared to be quite speechless.

The cook bent his head to light another cigarette, actions deceptively calm. His mind was racing, but when he raised his eyes again, it was serene blue that met panicked brown and in a tone that sounded as if it were remarking on the weather -

"You were catapulting yourself between the buildings again, weren't you?"

Luffy leant back slightly, confused and slightly guilty. He nodded. The layout of Water 7 with its narrow streets and many-storied buildings was perfect for an energetic rubber-man to fly from one structure to the other.

Sanji blew out tobacco smoke in a thoughtful manner, and mused aloud: "It probably flew off when you were jumping around like a monkey, idiot. Nami warned you it would happen when she told you the string wasn't enough to stop you losing it. You should have listened to her."

Luffy's guilty expression worsened and he ran one hand through his unadorned hair, miserably. He turned indecisively towards the ruined doorway, then back to Sanji, new determination on his face.

"We're going to find it!" And he was off.

Sanji shifted himself off the counter, grabbed his jacket off a nearby chair, and rushed out the door before he lost sight of his captain.

"We have to hurry, if we want to cover the city before it gets dark!" he yelled after Luffy, who needed no reminder. "If we find Robin, she might even be gracious enough to help!"

* * *

They did indeed find Robin, clothes shopping with Nami, after Luffy barreled into and knocked over an overloaded Chopper. The situation was quickly explained and the five of them set off to comb the city.

Nami took an analytical approach and tried to extract as much information out of Luffy as to where in the city he might have been when he lost the precious treasure. Unfortunately, it appeared the boy had taken the grand tour, so Nami resigned herself to a fruitless afternoon asking around in the most likely places.

Robin found a secluded spot, sat down, and calmly closed her eyes. _She_ spent the rest of the day inadvertently traumatising several innocent citizens as eyes appeared on walls throughout the city.

Chopper used his amazing sense of smell in an attempt to track Luffy's movements and thus the hat, but he kept losing the trail because of the boy's unique method of travelling. The abundance of water didn't help, either.

Sanji stuck with Luffy as best he could so they didn't lose the captain as well as his hat, while Luffy ran up and down crowded streets, growing increasingly desperate as the sun set.

Darkness fell with no luck on any front. One by one they made their way back to the temporary base of operations. Sanji and Luffy were the last to arrive, forced to give up because the shadows hid too many nooks and crannies where the hat could lie. The mood in the room was abject despair. Though Sanji doubted Luffy had given up looking for his treasure, the chances of finding it were growing slimmer as the hours progressed. They all knew what the hat meant to Luffy – a reminder of Shanks' sacrifice and his promise to become Pirate King – but it had grown to mean something massive to the crew as well. They were not just a bunch of pirates lead by a rubber-man, they were the _Straw Hats_. It was their symbol, it was on their flag, and it was what came to mind whenever they thought of nakamaship.

Losing the hat, in the wake of losing Usopp and almost losing Robin, was a severe blow to the morale of the crew. Sanji puffed almost angrily on his cigarette as he chopped vegetables for dinner. It was completely wrong that they were reduced to this – Nami exhausted from the search, Robin consoling a morose Chopper in the corner and a desperately sad captain drawing circles on the tabletop with his finger. Sanji could almost hear his soufflé deflating under the depressive atmosphere.

With Usopp still suffering for his pride, there wasn't even anyone that could successfully put the captain's mind at ease. Even that stupid swordsman wasn't there to do that weird 'silent communication' thing the two seemed to use to reassure the other. _Probably lost again…_ The crew would inevitably end up looking for him, too, tomorrow.

As if Zoro had somehow heard him, the door opened and a familiar heavy tread made its way towards the dining table. Sanji hid his surprise and turned around to bite the first mate's head off about shirking duty, or perhaps deliver an ironic jibe, but the words died on his lips when he saw what the swordsman was carrying.

Placing a finger on his lips in a gesture that Sanji thought looked ridiculously coy on the large man, Zoro approached Luffy's chair from behind. The captain, who hadn't shown any sign of hearing Zoro's entrance, didn't acknowledge the presence behind him and remained slumped on the table.

Luffy was jerked out of his mood soon, however, by a sudden pressure on his head and a familiar scratchy feeling on his scalp. He looked up hopefully, tipping his chair slightly backwards to look at his first mate, Zoro's hand still on his head, steadying him.

"Hat?"

Zoro grinned.

Luffy returned the smile full force, all traces of previous bad humour vanished.

Sanji snorted slightly and turned back to the chopping block.

Business as usual.


End file.
